Labour mobilises for strike over alleged stuck minimum wage talks

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its allies have begun mobilisation of relevant organs for the commencement of a nationwide strike action next Wednesday over the alleged suspension of new minimum wage negotiation by the Federal Government.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the 40th anniversary of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), stated that the congress’ National Executive Council (NEC) approved the exercise after its meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.

He urged government to increase the minimum wage if it was willing to check economic recession.

His words: “We have the approval of the NEC to mobilise for the strike action if nothing concrete is not done at the end of the 14-day ultimatum we issued to government.

It has been proven worldwide that when the minimum wage is increased, the economy will perform better because there will be more disposable income to stimulate the economy.

“Former United States President Barack Obama increased minimum wage in 2008 when the country’s economy was in recession and that singular act took the largest economy in the world out of recession.

They say we are out of recession in Nigeria, but we have seen that the economy was in the negative just last quarter. Government should increase minimum wage to get the economy permanently out of recession.”

On the crisis of confidence created within the committee, Wabba said: “Changing the goalpost almost at the end of the game cannot take us anywhere. We must continue to ensure that citizens are not made to be extremely poor because what we have today is a pool of the working poor who cannot meet their basic needs.

“The least that any state governor collects as security vote is about N300 million per month. We know the earning of our political elite. Why are they treating Nigerian workers as second-class citizens in their own country? This must stop.”

The NLC boss, who blamed the proliferation of abandoned projects in the country on lack of planning, called on government to audit them nationwide.